» The Village Lanterne

The Village Lanterne Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: The Village Lanterne
Comment: Blackmore's Night is the creation of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (who once played with classic rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow) and vocalist, Candice Night. Their music has been compared to rockin' renaissance, and has a definite renaissance quality to it. Their music features electric guitar, acoustic guitar, various drums, hurdy gurdy (don't ask me, I have no idea!), shawms, rauchpfeife, recorder, chanters, keyboards, bass, violin and bagpipes.

One of the qualities that originally drew me to "Blackmore's Night" was their ability to take folktales from around the world and set them to music. The second thing that attracted me was Candice Night's beautiful voice, which is clear, strong and absolutely enchanting. She's been named "Faerie Queen" of the Pennsylvania Faerie Festival, and I must say the title fits! She's not only beautiful, but has a voice that could easily enchant anyone from the faery realm.

The first song on the CD is titled "25 Years." The music is based on an old Balkan folk song. In its current incarnation, "25 Years" is a song about nightmares. This is something we can all relate to. Nightmares can be pretty frightening and they definitely leave their mark on our psyches! However the song itself is not at all scary, but rather mystical. It features a haunting melody, clear vocals, a strong drum, and variety of instruments (including something that may be bagpipes!). This is my favorite song on the CD.

"Village Lanterne" is inspired by the legend of Siegfried, the Norse dragon slayer. It's a song about destiny, and following our own path with integrity and love. It's gentle and beautiful, and inspires us to look to that "lanterne" within ourselves - that light in the dark that will always be.

"I Guess It Doesn't Matter Anymore" is based on the legend of Resurrection Mary, the girl who haunts the Resurrection Cemetery in Chicago, IL. This song is edgy and has a definite groove to it.

"The Messenger" is an instrumental and features Ritchie Blackmore on acoustic guitar. It's very dreamy and contemplative, and could easily be the work of a faery man dreaming of his lover.

"World of Stone" is taken from a traditional German folk song, titled All Voll, and is inspired by Joan of Arc. It has a darker feel to it than the first four songs, and definitely brings to mind the struggle that not only Joan of Arc faced in her world, but the struggle we face in ours.

"Faerie Queen/Faerie Dance" starts off with very gentle vocals and music. The song is about a Faerie Queen who sees that we are truly one, but realizes that most humans don't know that. The last third of the song picks up into a fun instrumental featuring guitar that has a definite renaissance feel to it.

"St. Teresa" is a remake of a song Joan Osborne did back in 1995, but that song will never be confused with this edgy remake. It features one of the best guitar solos on the CD, and the music could definitely be compared to old Rainbow. Of course I have no idea what the song is about, and am only left to guess it's about a prostitute thinking about St. Teresa.

"Village Dance" is another instrumental, and where it's very gentle, it's much more upbeat than "The Messenger" which has a much more dreamy quality to it. This song has a definite renaissance feel to it, and I could imagine it being played in a great hall while couples danced together (but not too close!).

"Mond Tanz/Child in Time" contains a revamped version of Deep Purple's Child in Time, but with a definite renaissance feel to it. The lyrics aren't included in the CD, so I'm not sure what it's about, but it definitely rings of Deep Purple. As a special bonus, if you listen carefully, you'll hear Candice laughing at the end of it!

"Streets of London," originally written by Ralph Mc Tell, is a delicate song of feeling our own sorrows, and being unaware of how those around us may suffer more.

"Just Call My Name (I'll Be There)" starts off with a very haunting vocal, so I was mildly surprised when it broke into a rock song. A love song about the one who is always there for us is very reminiscent of Deep Purple, though not enough guitar solo for my taste.

"Olde Mill Inn" is a song about a tavern that actually exists in Long Island. It has a rolling quality to it, and reminds me of an old Irish drinking song. It's definitely a song of friendship, and makes me want to go hang out at a fine old tavern!

"Windmills" is a tribute to Don Quixote, but is a bittersweet song about many people who try to make a difference, yet in the end they are beaten down by a cruel world. It's a beautiful and gentle song that reminds us to never give up.

"Street of Dreams" sounds almost like it did when Ritchie played it with his band Rainbow, however this version has Candice's clear and strong vocals. I do wish they would have made it sound more like Blackmore's Night though.

The next three songs are bonus songs.

"Call It Love" is a gentle love song featuring more piano than I've noticed in the previous songs. It's the only song on the CD where both the music and lyrics are written by Candice Night. It's very sweet and sentimental.

"Street of Dreams" featuring Joe Lynn Turner. Joe Lynn Turner is the original vocalist in the Rainbow version of this song. In this version he and Candice Night sing together.

"All Because Of You" is the radio edit of a song that appeared on Blackmore's Night's earlier CD, "Fires at Midnight." Honestly I like the original version better as it had a more renaissance feel to it. This version sounds like a rock song - which is okay, but doesn't carry that Blackmore's Night feeling.

The CD itself is very beautiful, and features pictures of Candice and Ritchie in renaissance attire in magical settings.

The only problem I had with the CD was that the lyrics to the songs are not in the same order in the book as they are in the CD, so I had to flip around looking for them. And some lyrics weren't included at all.

I have really enjoyed this CD, and have listened to it hundreds of times. The CD is energetic and thoughtful, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in folklore and legend, yet enjoys the sounds of renaissance meets rock-n-roll.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting Listen
Comment: I am neither a big personal fan of Deep Purple, Rainbow, or, necessarily Ritchie Blackmore. I do enjoy the occassional "old world folk" style of music, especially Celtic and Scottish styles. I was somewhat intrigued to see that someone so deeply entrenched in rock and roll decided to redirect his musical so substantially. So, the purchase of this CD was a bit of a gamble for me.

The result of my gamble has been a very enjoyable listen.

First, Ms Night's voice is very solid. She delivers all of the songs with both technical strength and emotional conviction. She does not attempt to over sing any of the melodies and blends her vocals in very well with Ritchie's guitar work. She seems to be working to be a "part of the band" rather than a solo singer with back-up.

The music is most certainly a blend of the "old world" with hints (sometimes strong ones!) of the new. It is neither really. A good ole rock-n-roll back beat sometimes sneaks in behind middle-age sounding melodies and instruments. There are a couple of very good guitar based instrumentals that are followed by pieces that jump right back out at you in way that reminds you that Ritchie has his roots in rock-n-roll. Sometimes, taking that sort of approach can be a disaster. In this case, the whole concept seems to work very well.

Blackmore's guitar playing is excellent here as well. I expected nothing less than top notch and that is what he delivers.

The only hang up I have with this disc is that, on two occassions late in the ablum (including the bonus material), there are a couple of pieces that are, essentially, "old world" filler. However, for the most part, the song writing is good as well. I find the opener, 25 years, to be one of those songs you can't get out of your head. "Doesn't Matter Anymore" is a really interesting piece, retelling a 20th century ghost story from the Chicago area.

Finally, I am normally not a big fan of bonus material that repeats what is already on an album but "with a slight twist". However, I have always liked the "Rainbow" version of Street of Dreams. The first version on this album has Ms. Night singing it herself. It is a good version as well. However, the bonus version has her singing it as a duet with the original lead singer from Rainbow. That version is the best of the three by far and one of my favorites on this album as well.

Overall, quite an enjoyable album. It is different, and better, than the standard, "one off" fair that many artist give you these days to make $$$. It is obvious that this is the direction that Blackmore's heart is leading him. That conviction shows through on a good album with an excellent partner in Ms. Night.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful compilation
Comment: I won't pretend to be a musician, but I have listened to a lot of different styles of music and I know what I like and don't like. I ran across Blackmore's Night several years ago while searching for Ian Anderson's music. I started with Shadows of the Moon and was pleasantly surprised at the style of music. I subsequently found and purchased each Blackmore's Night album.

What can I say? I'm very impressed with this latest album. Candice seems to have come into her own on this album. From her strong voice to her lyrics. Some people might say that her lyrics seem a little 'airy', but that is what makes these songs so wonderful. However I'm not sure I would say that 'World of Stone' is light as far as a song goes, it sounds more like a battle song to me. While 'Olde Mill Inn' is as good a drinking song as any I've heard.

Ritchie and Candice do a very good job mixing the flashy electric instruments with the more organic medieval instruments. Ritchie's playing is as strong as anytime in his past history, either with Deep Purple or Rainbow. Listening to his playing on each song just reminds me that great guitar talent is like fine wine, it gets better with age. This album is a wonderful mix of Renaissance inspired music and more recent Rock. It's interesting to hear Richie cover some of his older stuff and wrap them in a Renaissance cloak so to speak.

This album cannot be boxed into a specific genre, there are some hard rock, folksy and Renaissance flavors mixed all through the album. I would suggest giving the album a try.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Ritchie Blackmore's Rennaisance Faire
Comment: If you enjoy the Blackmore's Night music then you already know what to expect. Crystal Nights voice is just as clear and beautiful as ever and Ritchie plays several great little acoustic pieces with no voacals. The extra's on the DVD stuff is great!
If you have never listened to Ritchie Blackmore's rennaisance efforts then start with the "Fires At Midnight" CD first.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Something for Everyone
Comment: The Village Lanterne is a delightful mix of musical styles. Some of it is Celtic while other tracks are contemporary. Some of it is all instrumental while other songs contain vocals. There are tracks that are easy listening, while others are "heavy metal" style rock.

Buy this CD. The Village Lanterne is well worth the price.

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